


You Are My Sunshine

by dorkslayer



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Gen, Misunderstandings, Species Differences, Sunburn, They're all clueless, its started off silly and then the emotions struck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-25
Updated: 2016-09-25
Packaged: 2018-08-17 05:34:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8132296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorkslayer/pseuds/dorkslayer
Summary: There are certain downfalls to adventuring without the proper equipment, one of them is the sunburn you'll get if you leave your hat at home.Or at least, that's a problem for Bilbo. It doesn't seem to bother the rest of the dwarves.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was fun to write and I really just needed to do something calming, so I did this! Maybe one day I'll actually write something that's not a one shot.

If there was one thing Bilbo Baggins wished he had brought on his mad journey to far off places, it was his hat. 

Forget the handkerchiefs and rain coat he desperately wanted, his hat was at the very top of the list of things he wished he had. A week into their trip so far, and Bilbo was intensely lucky to not have gotten sunburn once. The Baggins family had always been highly susceptible to sun damage, and Bilbo himself would often come home from an afternoon walk with pink cheeks and tender burnt ears.

Bilbo knew however, that his luck was about to run out. As he was brushing off a bit of ground for his bedroll that evening, he could feel the dull burn that meant he would have a very visible sunburn by the time morning came around. The dwarves didn't seem to be having the same problem, even mostly bald Dwalin remained untouched by the harsh sun rays. Bilbo supposed that the thick hair of the rest of the group had its merits.

As he laid his tender body to bed that night, Bilbo tried not to think of the pain the burn would bring in the morning. Perhaps Oîn had a salve of some sort that he could use, it really wouldn't do to seem even more useless as the journey wore on.

\---------------------------------------------

When he woke the next morning to the sound of the company packing up, Bilbo groaned. The dull ache on his nose and ears had turned to a sharp pain. Make no mistake, he would be suffering greatly that day.

He packed up his things quickly, perhaps if they started earlier today, they would spend less time in the piercing afternoon sun. Thorin had been pushing them hard ever since they had left the Shire, and there had been many days that they had walked late into the afternoon before setting up camp for the night.

As Bilbo was just slinging his pack across his sore back, he heard approaching footsteps behind him. Tuning around brought him face to face with Ori, who he had become tentative friends with over the past week.

"Morning Master Baggins, have yo- WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR FACE?"Ori shouted. Before Bilbo could ask what exactly was wrong with his face, a large pair of hands was grasping it and turning his head. Dori, drawn in by Ori's scream no doubt, was gripping Bilbo's face in a way one might grasp a small melon. 

"Good gracious what's happened to your face lad?" Dori exclaimed. Bilbo tried to answer, but couldn't seem to speak around the way Dori was squishing his cheeks. 

A crowd had soon gathered in response to the ruckus they were making. The whole company was gathered around them, having dropped whatever they were doing to come see the burglar. He could even hear Thorin quietly inquiring about the state of the hobbit. 

"Let me through you great clods!" Oin commanded, shoving his way past a concerned Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. "Now tell me lad, what is this awful rash on your face?"

Rash. What rash. Bilbo had checked the ground very throughly before he had laid down last night, there had been no poison ivy or other rash inducing plant, and besides, he would be able to feel the itchiness of a rash. The only thing on his face was...

"Ummm," Bilbo interjected, "could you possibly be talking about my sunburn?"

This caused the dwarves to go silent for a minute. It was Balin who spoke up first.

"Laddie, do you mean to tell us that the sun has done this to you?" He asked, voice full of confusion.

"Well of course. That's what a sunburn is after all." Bilbo couldn't see what the big deal was, the dwarves were acting like they had never even heard of a sunburn. How absurd.

"What's a sunburn?" Chimed in Kili, from somewhere behind him. The other dwarves nodded and grumbled in agreement, seemingly wanting to know the answer to that question as well. 

Bilbo spluttered. "Well it's exactly what it sounds like I suppose, a burn one gets from the sun. Are you truly telling me that dwarves don't get sunburnt?" There was much head shaking all around and it was Nori that proved Bilbo's suspicions.

"Sorry to tell ye lad, but it seems us dwarves have thicker skin than you hobbits." He said with a smirk.

"Well I wouldn't go that far Master Nori," a smooth voice cut in, "in fact I have met many hobbits who I would consider thicker skinned than dwarves. Now thick heads, I think dwarves hold the record for those." Gandalf has appeared from seemingly no where and calmly cut through the crowd of dwarves.

"I would chock this one up to a difference in environment. Dwarves are exposed to much less sunlight than hobbits and it seems your skin is simply made thicker from lack of exposure" There was a fair bit of unhappy grumbling to meet Gandalf's words but he continued on heedless of them.

"Bilbo, I saw some aloe plants just over that hill last night. Perhaps you might find them of use." Bilbo could have kissed Gandalf at that moment. Aloe wasn't always easy to come by in the west, thank goodness they had stumbled upon some. Perhaps Bilbo wouldn't be in as much pain as he had first thought.

Gandalf shooed away the dwarves with his staff (which made for a very memorable picture) and the discussion was over.

Or so he thought.

It took him about three hours into their ride to notice the worried glances being cast his way. Fili and Kili had their heads close together and were whispering, throwing a look back at him every once in a while. 

Even Dwalin and Thorin were shooting him not so discreet glances from the front of the line. It was beginning to make Bilbo feel on edge. 

So on edge in fact, that when Dori plopped down beside him at dinner Bilbo nearly jumped out of his skin. The silver haired dwarf gave him a terse smile and held out a floppy bit of thick fabric.

"What's this?" Bilbo asked curiously.

Dori nervously cleared his throat. "Well we thought it may help with your little sun problem. It was the best we could to on such short notice."

Suddenly Bilbo knew what he had holding. "Oh! A hat!" And a hat it was, similar to Bofur's in style but without such silly wings, a deep brown color with orange trim. It was perfect.

Bilbo beamed up at Dori and placed the hat upon his head. "Thank you for this. You've just saved me from more pain along the way."

Dori flushed at the praise and coughed. "Well it's not a problem Master Baggins, wouldn't want one of our own getting hurt." He then patted Bilbo on his newly hatted head and headed off, presumably to find his brothers.

Bilbo sat staring into the flames for a moment. Perhaps it was the roaring fire or his new hat, but he was suddenly feeling warmer than he had since he left the Shire.

Perhaps, that meant there was hope for them yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Kudos make my day and comments are my lifeblood. 
> 
> I kinda wanna do more of these species/cultural differences so leave me some ideas! 
> 
> As always tell me if there's a spelling or grammar error!


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